A Fantasy Within
by seinooo.kcvii
Summary: Sequel for Game. CloTi. No explanation. A bit of romance, action, etc. To put it simply, I do not know how to summarize something that is not yet complete. Anything can change.
1. Chapter 1

**For those who wanted a sequel.** Thanks for all who reviewed for **Game**.

Okay. First things first. Why I didn't upload this in Game? Because Game is as beautiful as it is alone. Any more will spoil it much.

Don't like, don't read. :D

**Disclaimer** applies for all chapters. "I do not own what Square Enix does. But I'd so love to work for them." - K.

* * *

Nibelheim. A frosty looking castle loomed audaciously in the snow. It was named after her family, Lockhart.

Upon landing, Tifa pushed herself to the icy floor, not minding to cover up herself albeit the blanket she was now draped with. It was just hung loosely about her shoulders. It really wasn't necessary for the castle was warm.

_My Core. Where is it?_

It wasn't anywhere she could think of. It wasn't in the hothouse filled with blossoms of all sorts which she adored. It wasn't in the usual place she hid it in because she remembered that she put it in a certain chest in her chamber. Doors upon doors flung open, showing astonished servants and workers candidly, gossiping, messing around, stealing cookies, stashing the royal wine and whatnots. She would deal with them later.

It was still near and she knew that. She could sense it 50 meters radius away from her but she still couldn't pinpoint where; a skill she had yet to master. The vibes were getting stronger now and the headache ceased. A spark lit within her as she passed the research room.

_No way…in the research center? What is he doing to it this time?_

Hojo was enjoying himself thoroughly. He always found that mass of white in his hand fascinating, though it belonged to Her Highness. He could do anything with that. He scribbled the last statement in the document under Her Highness Tifa Lockhart's medical file. He was the one who was responsible for the discovery of her Core when she was still an infant. His door flew open all of a sudden, making him jump. He hid the Core behind him just in time.

"Professor Hojo," Tifa nodded.

"Your highness!" he said, realizing who that was. "It's good to have you back…so soon. And call me Uncle. Tell me, child, did you bring his Core?"

"No, I failed the mission." _Uhh... Uncle?_

"On purpose? You never are good with assassinations."

"Assassination? I thought it was 'Extraction of Cloud Strife's Core.' Was it not?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

His hand felt hot and immediately he knew she was angry. _Her Core responds to her._

"Ehh… Well, if that was his first time in his age, there's a 50-50 chance he will die." He was perspiring nervously. Tifa calmly pulled the blanket off her and tucked it under her arm. She had suspected it, but a 50 percent chance of survival…

_If I had done that…He would have…died. Oh, Shiva. _

The Core heated up more and Hojo released it, making it fall to the carpeted floor inaudibly but kept rolling to the point where Tifa saw it. It stopped right in front of her.

"I—" Hojo began.

"You were messing around with it again," Tifa stated. He always found excuses to make her remove hers out. Nothing new, but this time he had managed to obtain it in her room, without permission, too. As she bent down to pick it up, Hojo stopped her.

"Your highness, I might need some more tests on it."

"Later. I'll keep this somewhere else." _Maybe in one of the flowers. He'll never get that._

"You can't, actually. The elders requested for that and your presence."

"Very well." Tifa held it firmly. "I'll see you later in the meeting."

"Of course, your highness."

"Professor Hojo, I'll have you know that I won't be extracting mine any sooner after I take it in. It makes me sick and I expected you know that better than anyone else. Is that understood?"

"Clearly."

"Good."

Tifa exited, leaving Hojo cackling to himself about her well-hidden naivety and leniency.

He recalled when Queen Lockhart gave birth to Tifa. The sweet bundle of joy suddenly burst into bubbles of laughter when she was presented to everyone and sunshine, she was. Hojo was appointed as her doctor and while checking her heartbeat, he found the Core accidentally. Naturally, he reported that to the king and his queen. Tifa was indeed blessed with a Core, but that would mean, all forces would target her—greed for power. From what he read, a Core is power and no further explanations were given even if he were to dig the graves of those who discovered about it first.

All the records of Tifa Lockhart's birth were reduced to ashes, apart from everything Hojo had.

The queen volunteered to live in a village with her newborn in secret, along with the other loyal servants. Of course, Hojo would still monitor her from time to time in the guise of the village doctor. He recalled how scared the little girl would be when he came along and asked her to take her Core out. Taking out the core during that time wasn't easy. She would cry, cry, and cry in pain but she got over it in due time.

Such wonder…was not supposed to be kept hidden. He would unveil the secrets of the Core and so far, so good.

-- -- --

Lucrecia waited patiently at the living area.

"Sorry for the tardiness, doctor," Cloud announced himself and sat down, crossing his legs as he propped it on the table in front of him. "One of the 1001 skills I have."

"Cloud, manners," Lucrecia told him. "Or I'll stab you mercilessly with whatever syringe I hold in my hand."

Cloud resigned, raising both his hands. Ruffling his head, Lucrecia proceeded for his weekly health check. She smiled in satisfaction when she finished.

"You're in perfect condition, your Core is alright…"

"My hair's still naturally spiky," he added, grinning.

"Sense of humor intact," Lucrecia finished.

"What's a Core?"

"You asked that before."

"I know and I still don't get it."

"Which part, Core is power?" Cloud nodded. Lucrecia cleared her throat, hoping that Cloud will brace himself for a long lecture.

"For a long time, my clan was chosen as the guardian of your kind. I believe you may be the last one if others were wiped out. You see, a Core is an important substance, for lack of a better word, for you. Just think of it as your soul or heart. It is power for those who can use it with free will. A rare treasure of Gaia. As of what it can do, I'll leave it for you to discover. From what I heard, one can summon a creature from a different world and easily control it and that's just one of the uses. Others are just as bizarre as what you can think of but all of the past people who had it used them for good."

"So I can control mine?" Cloud stood in excitement.

"If you can." Lucrecia laughed at his disappointed face. She let out an involuntary sigh. "He would be around your age by now…maybe older."

"Who?"

"My son. He was shipwrecked when he was three. I never seen him ever since." Lucrecia stood up, piling her papers up and carefully tucking them in her file. Cloud never heard her mention anything about her family.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could say.

"Don't be. I was a terrible mother. I never tried to find him and concentrated on my role…as your guardian."

"You portrayed a good mother to all of us here," he shrugged, stating the truth.

Lucrecia knew he was only trying to make her feel better. Her son was never shipwrecked. She had asked a colleague to take care of her son. The guilt of abandoning her son built up over the years as she saw Cloud grew and she knew it was too late to take back her actions. She never heard from him anymore.

"By the way, doctor…" Cloud started. It was making him itch for the whole day now. No one would believe what he said. Maybe Cid and Barret for they thought all that fighting were their dreams. "Is there anyone else apart from everyone in the premises know about me having a Core?"

"I don't think so," Lucrecia replied.

"There were some intruders earlier…" Cloud scratched the back of his head. "…And was able to obliterate their traces clean."

_Really?_ Lucrecia thought she hadn't heard anything about a breach that day.

"And one was trying to pull out…possibility my Core, out of me."

Lucrecia gasped. Cloud's Core. Was there really someone who knew about it? "He wouldn't…"

"She," he corrected.

_And she is as mysterious as the Core itself._

"And this intruder…she let you live?"

"A favor, I guess. For not killing her."

"That's a nice girl. Why didn't you invite her for dinner?"

"She turned me down," he smirked. "Everyone knows how strong I am and she probably ran away fearing that I might overpower her. Besides, she was greatly outnumbered." That part was true. He had seen fear instilled in her eyes when he grabbed her hand by surprise during her little act in his room.

"That's a first from you, letting a foe go that easily." Lucrecia laughed as she exited.

_That's because I was the one who was outnumbered during the last moment._

Cloud made his way to his chambers to retreat for the night. As he leaned on the railing of his balcony, he gazed at the night sky. The two horns of the moon were very thin, indicating that it was a new moon.

Absentmindedly playing with the glove he now considered precious, he recalled the events that occurred that day. To him, she was dancing and it irked him slightly that there were no flaws in her blows. All her movements were swift, precise and powerful. Everything about her screamed magnificence. Even when she laid beneath him, never begging for mercy.

Judging from the reactions of the two males who brought her out of her demise, she was of a noble blood for they obeyed her request willingly. The silver-haired man, mostly, for the other never said anything. They went north but what's in the north? There was only a storm of ice and thunder and only a small village was there, sitting just at the edge of it.

One thing he couldn't let go was her beautiful wine orbs with outer rings of ruby. They were a rare color and somewhat familiar.

A trail of thin, white fire shot from the north, distracting him from his thoughts.

_A shooting star? That's rare. It looks so near—_

The trail exploded after a distance and a huge sphere of fire birthed itself from it. The roaring explosion could be heard seconds after. From the fire, two blazing feathery wings spread out and a white-eyed head of a bird lifted, showing undoubtedly, a phoenix. The sky was tinted slightly orange from it, melding with the night. The fiery image parted its beak and let out an eerie howl, never resembling that of a normal bird. In that short phenomenon, the fire twisted and flickered, dissipating into the dark.

Cloud stared wide-eyed at it. It happened less than five seconds.

_What was that?!_

-- -- --

In her castle, Hojo had been irritating Tifa since dinner, asking her to touch a strange contraption he created.

To get him off her back, she slammed her fist on the table, agreeing.

"Okay, I get it. But only this time."

Hojo laughed in the weird laugh of his and put it on the table. Tifa stared at it.

For a long time.

And Hojo was getting impatient with her stalling.

It was ovoid, like an egg of some sort and it reminded her of the bulging bellies of pregnant women. It would have looked pretty decent if it wasn't for the algae-green color and the long wormy texture that dug its way around it.

"Is it alive?" Tifa asked in doubt.

"Nay, it is lifeless, your highness." _But will live if you touch it._

_Oh, good. So it won't just pop out anything freaky— _ Tifa touched it with a finger and from an end of the egg, out burst a ray of white fire and shot through the window. What she witnessed after that completely shocked her.

"Ooh, a success," Hojo marveled, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. Tifa snarled at him, and was trying hard to contain her seething anger.

"Professor Hojo," she growled out. "What. Did. You. Make. Me. Do?"

"It's a test. This is made from the remains of a phoenix. With some of my machines and chemicals used, along with a little magic, it absorbed a little power from your Core's leftovers. The power can form a shadow of the phoenix, it seemed," Hojo nodded in acknowledgment.

"Are you crazy?" she hollered at Hojo.

"I take that as a compliment, your highness," he cackled.

"Oogh!" Tifa let out a frustrated groan. "Listen, Professor Hojo, you had just blown our cover—more exactly, showed our position. Land of Nibelheim was supposed to remain a secret since eons ago. Read my lips. Secret. Myth. Never existing to the outside world. Except for the small village."

"Oh. Rest assured. No one will even dare to venture past our defense mechanism."

"I hope you're right but I swear, a fire bird emerging from our icy terrain?"

Grumbling, Tifa made her exit, hoping that she wouldn't get nightmares of fire, chocobos and the very person who had his hairstyle like that. In her room, Tifa clenched and unclenched her right hand repeatedly, gazing at her palm first and then at the bandaged cut.

"He took it." Tifa took the glove she used earlier.

"And now you're just like me; incomplete. I have spares of you but that cannot be the same for my Core." She laughed bitterly. After tossing it onto her drawer, she flipped the lights off and crawled into her bed.

-- -- --

Sighing, Cloud brushed a hand through the right part of his head. "North," he said, "was where she went off." He went to the small village Nibelheim years ago with Zack for their training but he never remembered meeting a dark-haired maiden.

_Who are you? How did you learn my name? Where have we met before? Why…do you look empty yet knowing when you let yourself fall?_

Brushing his thoughts aside, he resumed staring at his keepsake. He wasn't sure whether he had met her before but he knew he was smitten by her sole being and he smirked when he realized that. Something about her was oddly familiar.

He would surely get sweet dreams for that night.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

…is as brain-damaging as **Game**, to me at least.

**Old Snake by Harry Gregson-Williams**

And sorry if I didn't meet to everyone's expectation. ._.''' Don't kill me for **oocness**.

* * *

"Thanks, Rufus. We'll part here," Cloud gave a curt nod.

"You sure you don't want me to come?" Rufus asked.

"What's the point? You'll just sue anyone who irritates you." Rufus's eyebrow twitched at the comment his half-brother made.

"Bye, all! We'll see you soon!" Aerith waved and jumped off the helicopter with Zack. Cid and Barret had exited to look for signs of life in that barren ice desert but were called back by Aerith. Cloud led the way in familiarity. He had been there before with Zack.

"Cold," Aerith shivered in her coat.

"I remember a girl who loved the coldness," Zack grinned. Aerith pinched his side in annoyance and slight jealousy. "Hey, I was stating the truth. Cloud's present at that time, too. Right, Cloud?"

"I don't know." Cloud shrugged, not knowing what to say.

_Maybe. I don't remember knowing anyone when I last went here._

A long gray smoke trailed up from a distance. Cloud could hear Cid complaining how he'd cursing love a cursed cup of cursed tea. Barret and Zack laughed at him, saying he was all too picky, always searching for a perfect tea. Cloud scanned the area from their location. A small village with warm orange glows from windows welcomed them.

_That should be the village._

"We're close." The others nodded.

During their stay, the team roamed around for little bits of information, usually from small children and older people for they were less aware of danger. The middle aged ones were always cautious. They couldn't take the risk of being caught snooping around. They discovered lots of things, from how the innkeeper's wife hated the butcher's wife, a fairy tale, where Mr. Someone hid his gils for a rainy day, to the never-stopping storm and how supposedly to walk through it without being harmed—an old man's story for his children to sleep with.

What interested him was surely the fairy tale, of how a large kingdom was hidden behind the rotating storm and ways to enter it. Everything was told in a cryptic way but it was never hard for him to figure everything out with the help of Zack. Satisfied with their results and his superb skills of forcing—no, bribing people to talk, they began discussing their plan in which his friends thought was merely payback.

No, it wasn't revenge. It wasn't even a mission. To him, it was…

"Let the game begin."

… a _game_. And the one who wins would get the reward. Reward here meaning _anything_ the victor wants—_her_, for him.

-- -- --

It was midnight. Nibelheim was emitting a friendly radiance. A peaceful place she would call home, protected by the never-dying storm. The walls of storm of ice and thunder covered the whole kingdom and Nibelheim sat in the eye of it all. The village outside it was just a post for cargo transfers in and out of the storm and in the very heart of it all stood her castle. Not a strategic place, but enough to let Tifa see everything stretched before her.

From her room, Tifa could see the stars blinking, trying to lull her to sleep but she was seething since she returned home yesterday. She shuffled wearily to her balcony. They said they would return her Core, but on one condition—never fail her missions or even to drop one and she must do it solo, unless the elders find it acceptable to take a friend or two_. _

_This is absurd_.

She always depended on teamwork. When she asked why, they had replied to her that Kisaragi was needed in her hometown, Valentine needed a break from babysitting them both, General Sephiroth was too busy with the troops and the same applied to Rhapsodos.

How can the elders do this to her? The other ministers agreed and she didn't have a say in this. She hadn't given her reply yet so she still hadn't got her Core but its presence nearby was more than enough to sooth her headaches. She enjoyed company and her friends were equally important as her Core. She couldn't choose—herself, her kingdom or her friends.

"I rather die," she whispered to the air. _But I cannot. I should live, for Nibelheim._

She was harshly scolded by them when she announced she dropped her current mission off. Who had the power here; her or the elders? To her, it was the latter. They pulled the strings from the shadows. They were indirectly in control of the throne. She was strong yet she was weak. They had threatened her when she usurped the title 'Queen' at the age of seventeen with promises of Nibelheim's destruction.

_That is so not fair. To top it all, they wanted to see my Core more. Sephiroth might say it's petty._

She loved her kingdom and her friends and she must get her Core back soon, or she would '_fail as a human being_', as how Professor Hojo put it. She was tired of being submissive but she knew she shouldn't let Nibelheim wiped off the map. If she dies, Nibelheim would fall to the hands of greed. She knew how the elders worked. Even if she decommissioned the elders, she would have no guidance how to run it. Political ruin—

Thud.

_What was that?_

The sound of muffled yells and heavy bodies falling were appalling. Tifa peered down carefully, straining her eyes to see farther.

_It didn't sound like it came from the residents down there…Nothing…_

Tifa sighed in relief but stood still in alert, wondering what she heard earlier was a fragment of her imagination or not.

"A lady, sighing? I wouldn't let it pass," a familiar entrancing voice breathed closely to her ear. A warm presence crept behind her, making chills run down her spine. She gripped the railing harder.

_This is a dream, this is a dream…This is a dre—_

A strong arm snaked around her stomach and another, no doubt a right hand, rested on her bandaged hand. That made her gasp.

_Argh! A dream, damn it!_

"How's your hand?" his voice asked, hinting concern. Tifa froze in her place. It was healing alright, but at a slow rate with the absence of her Core.

_I'll die. I'll die. I'll die. I'll die. I'll die._

"Apologies for scarring your hand, my lady." Her right hand was lifted to meet his lips.

_He could be after my Core… Either I die, or he dies._

Grabbing both his hands, she hopped onto the railing and lunched a back flip and her pristine white nightgown fluttered, heavily contrasting the night. He grinned when he grasped what she was trying to do. During her small pause against gravity, he made a 180 degree turn, seizing her in his arms once again as she landed. Her back fitted perfectly to his torso as he held her firmly, ignoring her squirms and furious grunts.

Thinking he had won the game he orchestrated himself, his rejoiced inwardly. He would never let her go. The feeling of losing her overwhelmed him like when she fell from the cliff. He smiled in relief, having her there in the flesh though he couldn't fathom why.

So holding her tight was the only thing he could do after their separation.

"How did you enter this place?" Tifa snapped, elbowing him. "The storm penetrates the atmospheres."

Neatly avoiding that blow, Cloud replied, "It goes up, but never affects the ground, right?"

"Tsch." _The underground passage. They couldn't have entered using magic…_ "You think you're so good."

"Then explain how I was able to get here." Cloud's smirk grew when she didn't respond.

"Don't…kill me yet." Her voice quaked and she could feel his smile against her hair.

"Now, why would I?"

_Oh yeah, why _would_ he? …Because he has compassion._ And idea swam to her.

Within his arms, the maiden quivered all of a sudden. Cloud noticed she stopped struggling, clutching her chest and she started hyperventilating.

_She was hurt?_

He released her and carried her to her bed where he sat close to her, just at the edge.

_Is it a sickness?_

He recalled when he had thrust through her hand. She was also out of breath. He felt so low, attacking someone ailed. He lowered his head, not wanting to meet her gaze if she did.

"Thank you, Cloud," she whispered.

_Why does she sound delighted now?_ Cloud raised his head in confusion, finding her standing calmly and cracking her knuckles in—_her gloves? When did she…_

"For letting me go," she smiled sweetly at him. Sprinting to the open sliding door, Tifa dived to a lower balcony, possibly a servant's. And so she began to hurdle over consecutive balconies in a great speed. Barefooted.

Cloud let out an annoyed 'tch" as he watched her dash. She escaped him again.

_Playing hard to get, eh?_

"Cid, our prime target's heading to the East wing," he spoke to the radio. "Don't kill her."

"Roger. Commencing pursuit."

He leapt up to the roof, pulling out his sword. He started running eastward, keeping an eye to her flitting shadow and dress. She stopped at a small bridge joining the sleeping quarters and another building. Running across it, she stopped in front of the door labeled 'Security".

"Cid, security room."

Tifa punched the glass door open and it shattered easily. The room was dark and empty. She could see the monitors smashed and wires pulled out. She stepped in carefully, avoiding reflected prisms everywhere.

_What happened here? Where are the guards? Were they slain?_

She spotted two still bodies on the floor. There were no signs of injury. Squatting, she checked their pulses and any instrument of killing.

_They're out cold._

Whoever it was, he's good for hitting them down once at the head to make them go unconscious. A cold draft breathed in, making her tremble a little. She glanced around for something to cover up with. A wardrobe was yanked open. Blankets pushed themselves out at the bottom rack.

_Oh, good._

She draped them across the two bodies.

"Help will come," she said to no one in particular. _Yes, I will get help._

"How noble," a raspy voice hissed, making her turn around to the source of it. There, at the threshold stood a man, possibly much older than her, lounging his harpoon on his shoulder. She recognized him. Vincent was against him and a dark-skinned man two days ago.

"It's all my heart contained with," she sneered—at him and her missing Core. "Stay."

"You're not the one who can $%^ order me around." Hearing that, Tifa pulled her left fist back, drawing her breath deeply as she did so, and rammed it down to the floor. The collision made a series of air waves, tossing the glass particles away, man and all.

"I'm not expecting you to obey, though." She sprang after him, silently vowing that no one would touch her people if she could help it. Her premises were far from the main stronghold Sephiroth and Genesis were in. She was the only one who could defend herself in that part of her castle and those who were asleep were vulnerable against anything.

She stopped abruptly when her opponent sent his harpoon drive forward to her face and stopping a few inches from her. She spat an annoyed "Tsch." in spite at his grinning face. Another shadow danced down from the roof, lightly tapping on adjacent walls until it reached their level. Cloud, she thought.

"Where do you think you're going?" His icy voice broke the silence. Tifa's mind reeled for ways to escape those two. In front was a long-range weapon wielder and to her back, the _knight_ with his lethal blade. No, the_ prince._ She smirked at her correction. That was true. He was the second prince of—

"Where…" Tifa seized the harpoon's pole in front of her, removing Cid's grasp from it. Spinning to Cloud with a feral glare, she added, "else…" and she hurled it with might to his direction. She dusted off her hands together. "...do you think I'll go?" she grinned. Cloud ducked his head with ease as he identified the track of the weapon.

_He just doesn't know how to give up, huh?_ She chuckled. Truth be told, she didn't really have a clue where she would go.

Cid jumped forward, trying to pin her down. When she observed this as she turned to him, Tifa split her legs wide and lowered her upper half, making a swift duck. Cid sent himself hurtling onto Cloud and both blonds rocketed into the security room.

Tifa distanced herself from the blonds, hiding within shadows as she crossed the bridge. She needed to sound the alarm but considering what happened to the security room, they probably had blasted off the others. She leapt past more unconscious guards and sentry men. At least they were adequately clothed, Tifa thought, shivering in her nightgown.

Alerting the whole units sounded like a good plan. She just needed a loud, wide-area-covering noise and her eyes trailed to the only device that could do that. A bell. And it was right on the top of the castle's church. Lucky, it was right next to the building she was at.

-- -- --

Cloud groaned. "The hell…"

"Spike, your girl's tough," Cid growled, lighting up a cigarette. He was sitting cross-legged next to Cloud's lying form.

"Point taken." Cloud rose, picking up his sword which was carelessly stabbing a cushion. He stepped outside, scanning the area for any slight movement from _his_ dark-haired target.

"How're ya goin' to find her now?"

"I don't find her. She finds me." Cloud smirked. He spied a white flowing cloth scaling the walls of what looked like a church. "Well, maybe this time she lets me find her." He hopped from one horizontal flagpole to another. He would get her now. And up he bounded, going to the rooftop of the current building he was in and continued to observe her.

Phew, Tifa thought, sighing. "Where is that damn rope?" She skirted around the square area. No rope. The bell just hung there, taunting her to ring it. How in Gaia's name did the people get it to ring?

"You mean this?" Once again, his voice made her froze for unknown reasons. He jumped off from the top of the bell tower's roof and showed her a thick twisting rope that was cleanly snapped off. She was always a step behind—or she was that easy to read.

"Tsch." It was becoming her cliché…act of annoyance. Fighting in her nightgown seemed stupid enough, since it limited her movements. She ripped the bottom left of the dress up to her thigh and felt his watch her every action. Somehow it made her feel defenseless.

_Like a hawk spying a prey_.

She lunged at him, sweeping her leg to knock him down. He sidestepped, avoiding her, smirking.

"Tut, tut. You're showing everything to me?" That couldn't have made her any more furious and she launched a clean somersault and again, missed. Were her skills degrading? _It can't be…_ It was only two days ago since they lashed out at each other. He was swinging his sword like a toy. She was slowing down bit by bit.

Punch, kick, block, jump, knee, elbow, twist, counter.

Everything was futile.

She never did hit him and it upset her.

Cloud was enjoying himself, seeing her calm face turn angry. One thing that clearly proved she was somewhat drained was her movements, he noted. What went wrong? She was tiring easily. Where did all her vigor go? This was too easy. All in all, he liked being around her, whether she's against him or not.

In her despair, Tifa kneeled, her muscles aching and she was breathless.

"Cloud Strife, what…are you?" She asked, between breaths. He walked slowly to her and crouched, trying to meet his eyes with her deep ones. _Why is it hard to hit him?_

"Who, you mean." Tifa gripped his hand for support and lowered her head.

"Yeah."

"Like you suspected, I have a Core. Is that what you were thinking?"

And it hit her. _Core_. "Not quite," she answered. She was still missing hers. She bit her lip. It was still at a detectable range but what happened to it? She was weak all of a sudden. Who was playing around with it? She got up and turned away from him, softly brushing the bell as she made a considerable distance between them. Her feet were starting to numb. Why did the elders punish her so? The core belonged to her.

_Without my Core, I will fail soon…whatever it means. I cannot take this any longer._

"Damn it. I'll have to continue my aim here." Cloud grinned, elated at her newfound strength and her energy to at least frown at him.

"By all means."

_But…I have decided to appease him. For now._

"I am extremely skillful with my hands," Tifa set her stance. Cloud smirked when he heard her said '_hands'_ and she flustered a little when she realized her error in words. "_Fists_, I mean."

"My best friend," Cloud nodded, tapping his blade on his shoulder. "Apocalypse."

The two charged at each other and a sense of euphoria swept up, making them forget all around them. The ambidextrous swordsman and the fighter began their dance. He used his left hand this time. Metallic screeches and clangs, thuds of blows landed, and grunts filled the air. Her hair whipped the air without restraint and his single sleeve flapped, both giving obstruction to each other's views.

He swung his sword, she swatted it away and it grazed her arm protector. That sharp 'scree' sent their teeth aching and both gritted their teeth to block the sensation.

"Why are you doing this?" she questioned.

"Why did you?" he asked back. He meant about her being coming to him.

She made a straight thrust at him and he blocked it with his sword, making her fist land on the flat side of it. She pulled back, rapidly hunting for openings or flaws.

"Mission. And I aborted it."

"Hm. In my case, it would be…interest."

He tried to pierce through her yet she caught his arm with her left after she swiftly evaded him.

"How…petty." She used Sephiroth's words. _If it's only interest, I have nothing to fear. He isn't here for my Core._

With her hand still holding his arm, she spun to give him a backhand with her free hand. He grabbed her hand in time. A warm liquid oozed out. Her cut reopened and she tried hard not to wince in pain.

"What's your cause? What made you look for me, and leave me alive?"

They parted instantly. He swung his sword forward and in that split second, Tifa leapt onto it, pushing it down where it chipped the stone floor. Upon seeing her figure listlessly resting on his sword, Cloud was rendered speechless. It was the same when he witnessed her graceful dive in his tower. He couldn't put a finger on it but the feeling of butterflies in his stomach churning everywhere was unmistakably obvious.

"My cause is simply…_love_. Game over, Cloud."

She pivoted on the sword he was still holding and heeled him, aiming for his head. When he heard her words, he was pulled back to reality and ducked. He yanked his sword free, rewinding what she mentioned before.

_Love?_

"No way in hells," he spat.

"Yes, it is." Tifa stepped rearward, walking calmly to the bell. She gave it a strike forcefully.

Ding!

Both of them clamped their ears shut. _Noise_. That was all she needed. The noise reverberated with the hills nearby. Tifa couldn't feel up to her knees now.

"You have me at a disadvantage, you know."

"How so?"

"You know my name and I don't know yours."

"…Engrave it in your heart, Cloud Strife," she paused, smiling coldly. "I am forever Tifa Lockhart."

Tifa Lockhart. As she said it, each syllable was followed by a piano note of random octaves, overfilling his head that it hurt. Images began to form in his head—of Nibelheim, both the phony village and the vast mythical kingdom, and of his memories with Zack in the village. They had met _her _before.

"Ti…fa?" he gasped out.

"_I remember a girl who loved the coldness."_

And more images of him and her.

_Are you cold? –No, I'm not cold at all. I like it._

_Wow, you're…unique. –I know._

_Why do you like it? –Because I love Nibelheim. Nibelheim is cold._

_This village? –No, the whole thing._

The scenes changed. They were playing around and he remembered all the things they had done together in their youth. Another scene. This time, about a promise. All his feelings toward the girl simply exploded.

He had loved her since the beginning. For reasons he couldn't explain. And realized he still loved her now.

"My name, said by my voice, was a password to undo the spell."

Ding! Another toll.

She kneeled down to his scrunched up form and wrapped him in a tight embrace—something she had missed doing a long time ago. Cloud was still trembling in pain. His head was filling up and his emotions overflowing. He let out more painful grunts.

"You'll be okay," she promised. She whispered bitterly, "I'm…sorry, Cloud…for the pain I have caused you. You should hate me for making you forget—and for making you remember."

The sound of a heavy beating wing broke the silence and only an injured Genesis came to her and she jogged up to the edge to meet him. He raised his sword when he saw Cloud.

"Leave him, Genesis." Tifa warned him. "How did you get these wounds?" _Where's Sephiroth?_

"The elders…" Genesis coughed blood out and his face twisted in pain. "And…Zack Fair. Sephiroth is…" He collapsed in her arms and remained motionless. That was the death of Genesis Rhapsodos before his queen. For Tifa, it was the death of a dear friend.

"I'll return soon, Genesis." Tifa glanced at Cloud. "Your friends are making themselves at home."

Cloud's splitting headache ceased and the memory addition had ended. She laid Genesis down with care and pulled off her gloves, revealing a right hand dripping with blood and Cloud's eyes widened in horror at that sight.

_That wound…_ He had grabbed it earlier.

She tore off the bandages and ripped off a considerable amount of cloth from her skirt, showing more of her thighs. After hastily wrapping her hand up, she gazed at the building with a dome-shaped roof.

_The administration building... Genesis came from that direction._

As she advanced more toward the edge, Cloud pulled her back and both tumbled back. When their eyes met, he realized her eyes had a different glint of determination; a far greater one than to _play_ with him earlier and it worried him. He got the feeling that he would be—

"This is Nibelheim's conflict. Tell your friends to retreat. As I said, your game ends here," she told icily, rising up.

—left out. No way was he letting that happen.

"Tifa, what else can I do?"

"Leave." _You can't do anything here. You mustn't, to be exact. You're a sitting duck, running around with your Core, Cloud._

She tried to jump to a lower roof but to no success. Her legs were failing her. She slipped and plunged down and the only thing that rolled out of her mouth was a startled gasp. That, and what she managed was a slowly reaching out hand. She disappeared into the darkness, crashing to something made of glass below.

"No! Tifa!" Cloud cursed at his slowness at reacting to her outstretched hand. Too late.

Again, Cloud had failed to save her. But he dived after her all the same.

For he remembered he had promised to be her savior.

"_Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me."_

"_What?"_

"_Come on—! Promise me—!"_

"_All right... I promise."_

_

* * *

_


End file.
